Chili Blooms!

Perfect edges line every petal
White as jasmine and cool as mint
Oh, wait till they turn to fruit
Taste the pepper hot sweat to heal!
Poetry: Copyright ©2014VeerajaR

Photo: Copyright ©2014VeeraMahal Franklin

To Catch Rainbows

Catch them rainbows in my garden
Display them on my salad plate...

Copyright ©2014VeeraMahal Franklin

Origin of Medicine

A treasure of medicinal wealth that survived last months freeze...
In my garden -
Bitter Melon & Kothu Kulai (Kottu Kola)/ Vallaarai.

Yes, I am blessed with some seeds for next year!

Copyright©2013VeeraMahal FRANKLIN

JOY of Life!

What is the chance of a butterfly
Landing on my finger,

let alone
Stay contented & peaceful...
Feeling the throb of my nerves
Of my heart,
Oh, how I wish...
My babies could, always!
Copyright©2013VeeraMahal Franklin

Green Apple Treat!

She loves to play balls: she surveys the garden and brings in the roundest apples, tomatoes or squash she could find...

But, of course she savors the apples & tomatoes... before devouring them!

I'm sure you can see how she's savoring the apple. The way her eyes rolling up thoughts in her brain, focused with ears let down and paws firmly grounded...
Copyright©2012VeeraMahal Franklin 

Green Handed...!

This thief got caught GREEN handed! Snacking on my precious Centella Asiatica, he looks like he knows what he is doing...

I have been wondering who is snipping off the leaves, leaving long bare stalks that looked pathetic.

Has Mr. Squirrel been reading my blog?
www.http://kaleidoscoopes.blogspot.com/2011/07/perseverance.html
If not, I am really impressed that he discovered all the health benefits of this ancient, but a newcomer herb to my garden.



The leaves are crunchy and have a unique scent and taste; great for fresh salad with a squeeze of lime. Obviously our Squirrel did not mind not having a lime to go with it. He must love it more than I do!

Copyright©2011 by VeeraMahal Franklin

Peach Bumble

My peach tree was in full bloom, literally a pink cloud, in early April. Like the bumble bee we had been too busy to admire the beauty of the blooms.

Thanks be to GOD for my Nikon!

Copyright©2011VeeraMahal FRANKLIN

What's On Your Plate?

No more food pyramids to climb!

Finally we figured it out and have placed the food where it belongs: On the plate.

I am really excited about the simplicity of the model. Now, even a child can understand the food groups. What a great way to motivate children to eat right. This might be the most ingenious way to prevent child obesity.

If you are wondering what I am talking about--just check the link below.

http://www.choosemyplate.gov/ And pass this link along to "Cookie Monster" too!

Enjoy good health with a sensible plate of food and a cup of dairy!

VeeraMahal Franklin

Blue Blessings!

Spring is here!!!
And my garden is waking up from winter sleep. As nature's wild and vibrant messengers the--so called--weeds sprout everywhere and of course the perennials.

I was fascinated by weeds even as a child, because the butterflies seemed to like them a lot. And in college, I did a seminar presentation on weeds and my research further convinced me that the term "weeds" is for human being and has nothing to do with the plants. GOD created everything for a purpose and we as human beings like to label everything relating to us.

We hear the ads: Weed them out! Spray at site, etc., etc... But, weeds still thrive and persist. May be GOD made the weeds extra resilient, because HE knew human nature. Definitely, we do not have answers to everything.

Do you like these blue blessings from my garden? Can you tell which is the weed and which is garden plant? Really?

These blue blessings, from my garden, display the beauty as GOD intended---just trusting Almighty GOD's wisdom!

Copyright©2011 VeeraMahal Franklin

Deliciously Healthy Happiness!

A Cup full of HAPPINESS to dive in:

Vanilla Icecream... topped with berries brimming with antioxidants!

Wow! Only GOD is capable of devicing such ingenius wonders.

All we have to do is...

Be THANKFUL and Enjoy!


By VeeraMahal Franklin

Fruits- Gifts...of Heavens and Earth

Are they indeed fruits of my labor? Looking at them made me realize they are really gifts from the heavens and earth.

I devour them more with my eyes than with my palate. The scents of ripe peach on the tree permeate through my breath into brain reaching for my soul.......

Is gardening an effort to recreate Eden?

May be deep within our soul we have the image imprinted, the scents embedded of a wonderful past, happy childhood of human race. That may explain why we feel so happy and close to God when we work in the garden- just sit and look around or even just listen with eyes closed- it feels like heaven! Of course, isn't that the inner-most motivation buried under all the worldly worries- seek heaven-peace, unconditional love and happiness?

We all do have a piece of heaven in our own garden!

-by VeeraMahal FRANKLIN